Traveling outside of the United States is a far dream for some people, but many students at Pleasant Valley High School are achieving these goals.

Every other year in the French department, students travel to France during the summer. During this two week time period, travelers are using the language they have been taught and exploring France with their classmates.

When traveling, the students are able to practice what they have learned in French class for the past years. The French department encourages their students to travel because it gives them the opportunity to encounter language and culture in an authentic setting they wouldn’t be able to experience back home.

Melissa Lechtenberg, Pleasant Valley French teacher, said, “There is nothing like the look of joy on a student’s face when they see all the things they have learned about in person for the first time and can use their language skills in real life situations.”  The next France trip available for students to sign up for is in June of 2019. Lechtenberg encourages all of her students to travel, for doing so can open one’s eyes to the rest of the world.

In June of 2017, the French students will be traveling to France. Each day of the two week trip is packed full of exciting touristic things to do, but the entire trip isn’t planned this way. The students travel to different regions of France and French speaking countries every other year. The students are also going into the smaller towns where the students ability to speak French has a higher importance than it does in Paris, where they speak some English.

Jenna Hoover, senior, said, “I am going on this trip in June, and I am very excited to use the French I have learned and to be able to apply it.” Hoover is one of many students who are traveling this summer. She has completed four years of French classes and has been practicing her pronunciation.